8.4

explain how the 20,000 patterns limitation can be circumvented in some cases. We will also touch upon the
potential pitfalls of these workarounds as they are used.
The Numbers
First and foremost, the 20,000 patterns is a fixed number - PlanetPress can only generate 20,000 unique
patterns as this is the number of patterns that we license through Anoto.
The 20,000 patterns are, however, not all available when generating documents. There are 8
"demo"patterns that are used to generate documents when PlanetPress Capture is in demo mode (no
license activated), and react the same way that the bulk of the 20,000 patterns. Another single pattern is
used to register pens in the database, and one last single pattern is used when printing a "Preview"from
PlanetPress Connect. So in reality, the number of available patterns for document generation is 19990, but
for simplicity's sake this FAQuses the round number "20,000".
In a typical PlanetPress Capture implementation, a process in PlanetPress Workflow generates output
(generally, this output is directly printed) and, at the same time, will "lock" one pattern for each page that it
generates, if that page contains a pattern. PlanetPress Workflow also stores a copy of each document in the
Capture Database, in PDF format.
While a document is printed, and while this printed document has not received any ink or signature, the
document is deemed "open", the pattern it uses remains locked in the database and cannot be re-used.
Then, when someone writes on the document and sends the pen data to PlanetPress Workflow (through a
docking station or through Bluetooth), if the required conditions have been met, the document will be
"closed", its pattern released and available to be used immediately.
An open document can also be called a "live" document, in the sense that it is only active between the time
where it is printed and the time where ink from the Anoto Digital Pen is processed and the document is
closed. This duration is called "time to live" or "TTL", and it is the second very important number: how long is
the pattern actually needed.
The third important number is based on your actual output needs. In other words, how many documents do
you intend to print on a regular basis that will contain a pattern?
These three numbers, together, represent an easy way to determine if the 20,000 patterns are actually
enough for you. Basically, if you generate X documents within a specific time frame but N of these
documents are closed through regular process (writing on them with a pen and docking it) during that period,
does the difference between both ever reach 20,000?